C350e tripping RCD

[Saxon6]

I thought I'd start a new thread on this one as the main c350e thread is now so massive, and whilst this issue is discussed the posts are mixed in with so many others that I've given up trying to sift through them all!!

I've had my c350e since sept15, been trouble free until yesterday. I have a Rolec 16a wall unit, however every time I plug it in it trips the RCD. I see that a few of you have now been experiencing this. What have MB said or done about the problem? Was it an easy fix?

I visited MB dealer today to see if it worked on their stations, but they didn't want me to plug it in I case it tripped theirs as the the weekend staff didn't know where the distribution board was located....

Two and a half weeks to wait until they can take it in with a courtesy car.

Any experiences would be really appreciated.

 

[mbboyracer]

Can't help directly but have you thought that the Rolec may be faulty? I've been negotiating with a couple of suppliers to fit a charge point. One says that recently there has been an increase in Rolec failures and he is likely to recommend a ChargePod - if he ever gets back to me.

 

[quonker]

Mine started intermittently at first then eventually the RCD would trip as soon as charging began.

I tried a public charger and that tripped also.

At that stage I booked my car in for investigation so haven't charged externally for about three weeks.

My car is actually booked to go in tomorrow and I've just plugged in from my Polar charger and it now seems to be charging normally, be interesting to see if it trips before the battery is full.

Even if it does charge successfully I will ask them to check it out, seems strange that it appears to be working!

 

[Saxon6]

I had hoped it would be the Rolec unit that was faulty, as that would be a relatively simple/quick fix. However, plugging the car in at work this morning using the MB 13 amp connector has confirmed that there appears to be a fault with the car as this connection will not charge either.

 

[Meldrew2]

Is the lead undamaged? A small kink could result in damaged insulation which could cause an RCD to trip. Likewise are the connectors clean and dry?

 

[Saxon6]

Is the lead undamaged? A small kink could result in damaged insulation which could cause an RCD to trip. Likewise are the connectors clean and dry?

Two completely different setups/circuits using two different leads. Rolec at home is the tethered lead, and at work it's using the MB 13amp lead provided. If the Rolec was damaged I would have expected the car to charge at work. Socket on back of car is clean and dry.

 

[skraus]

KM reading 3500

I've blown 3 loading stations today(!), fuses gone. Engineer thinks it's my charge cable. Called the dealer, he thinks it's moisture in the socket, not going in to be checked until 23/2. Until then, no charging for me..

will advise when I know more.

Simon

 

[Meldrew2]

KM reading 3500

I've blown 3 loading stations today(!), fuses gone. Engineer thinks it's my charge cable. Called the dealer, he thinks it's moisture in the socket, not going in to be checked until 23/2. Until then, no charging for me..

will advise when I know more.

Simon

Moisture in the socket is a possibility - but I would expect the fault current that "blows" the RCD to also dry some of the moisture, so would expect the RCD to stay "on" after a couple of attempts.

Caveat - my experience is mainly with caravan hook-up leads which may well behave a little differently...

 

[quonker]

Took my vehicle in this morning to have the charging fault investigated, the service guy told me that they had another C350e in for a charging fault and that had related to the temperature sensors which surround the charging module, apparently there are three and one of these were faulty but this was on a long delivery from Germany.

He also said that was the only other C350e they've seen in the workshop and they are not overly familiar with the technology.

Had a call this afternoon to say that this wasn't my problem but they had found issues that they were going to investigate for the rest of today and tomorrow.

Explained that I needed my vehicle back, they've given me an A class as a loan car which is not ideal, and I have a lot of miles to do on Wednesday and Thursday.

Hopefully they will identify the issue and can order the parts whilst I am driving around without external charging.

 

[Saxon6]

Thanks for the update Quonker.... Just tried mine again at home this evening and still tripping the RCD. Socket is dry so atm I'm not convinced it's moisture. Long delivery for the part from Germany doesn't sound ideal, but at least yours is progressing. As others owners are now finding, mpg in these cars on ICE alone is not great so I'm in for a costly wait, still, at least it's 98p a gallon now!

 

[Saxon6]

Just thought, gives me an excuse to use my Alfa more in the meantime :bannana:

 

[C350e Jan 2016]

I hope it's not the "heater booster" as this was the issue with mine and after 12 days, still not even an ETA on the part they need. My boss's car had issues with charging and he sent it back 3 times only to be told it was a faulty lead. They replaced the lead but then came the "malfunction" battery symbol and since then, they have had his car also. He is Ok because he managed to get an E250 cdi which he's had for 10 days...he now wants to keep the E250 cdi and give the C350e back......

 

[C350e Jan 2016]

Has anyone been told they must keep the black charge box covered up ? MB rang me to ask if it had been left out in the open....cannot see anything in the manual regarding keeping this covered up. No other C350e driver at my place has been told or given any such information by MB either....

 

[pawkins]

Has anyone been told they must keep the black charge box covered up ? MB rang me to ask if it had been left out in the open....cannot see anything in the manual regarding keeping this covered up. No other C350e driver at my place has been told or given any such information by MB either....

No, it looks as thought it would cope with rubber grommets etc and a bit mad if it can't stay out. Mine has been out in the rain a couple of times with no issues..

 

[Saxon6]

Manual for 13a cable and black box charger states.... 'Rated for indoor or outdoor use, protected against water, ice and dust. Conforms to IP67 rating.'
Clearly no issue with using these in the rain.
Thankfully no battery warning light in the car and charges when driven in Charge mode.

 

[190]

RCD's trip when they detect a current leakage to earth in excess of fixed level usually 30mA. That generally means either damaged cables or more likely, faulty components in charger.

RCD's (Residual Current Device) had a more descriptive name when they were called ELCB's (Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers) although there are some technical differences between them.

 

[Meldrew2]

RCD's trip when they detect a current leakage to earth in excess of fixed level usually 30mA. That generally means either damaged cables or more likely, faulty components in charger.

An inductive load can also trip a standard RCD. This is often experienced with failing fridges / freezers in domestic electrical installations. A time-delayed RCD may be a solution, but this would not offer suitable protection against electric shock.

This is a whole new area of fault finding that the motor industry are unlikely to have experience in, so inevitably it is less likely that a quick and simple fix can be made. I guess it's typical of any type of technology in the early days, although I have not heard of similar problems with Mitsubishi...

I hope that things get resolved soon for the OP.

 

[quonker]

I've just collected my car from the dealer, they couldn't find a current fault although they admitted that historical faults were registering.

I'm home now and happily charging again, (nervous now that the RCD will trip at any moment), and hope all is well.

They've again said that they don't really understand the hybrid drive train, they've had a couple of people go on a course but this was mainly based around how the system works rather than fault finding.

So for a month I stopped external charging due to the issues that now seem to have cleared.

MB are saying that if the fault is evident then clearly it will be easy to diagnose if not to fix.

But fingers crossed.

Really loving my C350e would hate for it to have to go away again, hopefully not!

 

[Ted]

I've just collected my car from the dealer, they couldn't find a current fault

Heh heh heh!

Did it get you ohm alright?

 

[quonker]

Heh heh heh!

Did it get you ohm alright?

Ohm my God, that was bad. Watt made you tell that joke?

My resistance to post further in this thread has been overcome by
my capacitance to reason clearly.

It Hertz!